HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CRITICIZES RUSSIA FOR EXPLOITING MIGRANT OLYMPIC WORKERS, INCLUDING ARMENIANS

NEWS.AM
February 06, 2013 | 15:44

Migrant workers building sites and infrastructure for the 2014 Winter
Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia have been cheated and exploited,
Human Rights Watch reported.

With exactly one year to go before the Winter Olympics, Russia and the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) should make rigorous monitoring
of workers’ rights on Olympic construction sites a top priority to
prevent further abuses.

The 67-page report, “Race to the Bottom: Exploitation of Migrant
Workers Ahead of Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi,”
documents exploitation of migrant workers on key Olympic sites,
including the Central Olympic Stadium, the Main Olympic Village,
and the Main Media Center. Workers told Human Rights Watch that some
employers cheated workers out of wages, required them to work 12-hour
shifts with few days off, and confiscated passports and work permits,
apparently to coerce workers to remain in exploitative jobs.

Human Rights Watch’s report is based on interviews with 66 migrant
workers employed on Olympic and other construction sites in Sochi from
2009 through 2012. The workers came from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Nearly all workers interviewed
by Human Rights Watch in Sochi worked in low-wage, low-skill jobs
such as odd-jobs workers, carpenters, welders, or steel fitters. They
reported typical earnings of between 55 and 80 rubles (US$1.80 to
$2.60) an hour.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress